Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 10.049 March 22, 2001 1) Yiddish Seminar in Eastern Europe (Gershon Winer) 2) KlezFest in St. Petersburg (Alexander Frenkel) 3) bar/ben (Rick Turkel) 4) bar/ben (Perets Mett) 5) muz nisht vs. darf nisht (Eli Goodman) 6) muz nisht vs. darf nisht (Al (Avrum) Miller) 7) Bohemian Jews' Use of Yiddish circa 1938 (Peter Melman) 8) forbidden activities in Gebertig's songs (Susan Ganc) 9) "a mayse mit a ku" (Diana Wilner) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2001 05:51:02 -0500 (EST) From: Nechama & Gershon Winer Subject: Yiddish Seminar in Eastern Europe The Foundation for the Advancement of Yiddish Studies, in cooperation with the recently established National Authority for Yiddish Culture (in Israel) announces the 13th annual Seminar on Yiddish and Yiddishkeit in Eastern Europe which will take place this summer in Vinnitsa, Ukraine. Named for the late Samuel A. Klurman of Miami, the Seminar offers a comprehensive curriculum of Jewish studies, from the elementary to the advanced levels, through the medium of Yiddish, for a three week period beginning Tuesday, July 23 through Tuesday August 14, 2001. This is a program of intensive study, conducted by a staff of academicians from Israel and America, for Jewish students and professionals in the republics of the former Soviet Union. Full tuition and maintenance scholarships are provided for 70 students, to the age of 35, from Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. Students from other countries may enroll on payment of $750. which covers all fees. The Seminar includes educational tours, kosher facilities, and shared living experience in a total Yiddish environment enriched by Jewish tradition, the arts and the spirit of Israel. Additional information can be secured via FAX 972-3-620-3530, or by writing to National Authority for Yiddish Culture, 14 Brenner Street, Tel Aviv, ISRAEL. Elementary reading and speaking knowledge is a prerequisite for admission. Gershon Winer 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 05:51:13 -0500 (EST) From: "Alexander Frenkel" Subject: KlezFest in St. Petersburg 2001 (Russia, July 8-12) The Center for Jewish Music of the Jewish Community Center of St. Petersburg is proud to announce "KlezFest in St. Petersburg 2001," an international seminar on the traditional music of Eastern European Jewry, to be held July 8-12, 2001 in St. Petersburg, Russia. "KlezFest in St. Petersburg 2001," now in its fifth year, is the oldest Klezmer seminar in Russia. It will include master-classes on Yiddish folk songs and Klezmer music, workshops on Yiddish folklore and Yiddish dance, lectures, concerts, and two excursions, "Jewish St. Petersburg" and "White Nights in St. Petersburg." Our staff will include three world-famous Yiddish musicians -- pianist and conductor Zalmen Mlotek and singer Adrienne Cooper, both from New York, and the brilliant Klezmer clarinetist from London, Merlin Shepherd -- as well as Leonid Sonts, the leader of "Simcha," Russia's first professional Klezmer band. "KlezFest in St. Petersburg" is dedicated to bringing Klezmer music and Yiddish culture back to the lands of their birth and will include Jewish musicians from the vibrant centers of Jewish renaissance across the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union. It is supported by a grant from the Jewish Community Development Fund in Russia and Ukraine, a project of the American Jewish World Service (New York). This year we are pleased to announce a special program for lovers of Yiddish music and culture from other parts of the globe. We are asking for a contribution of $500 ($400 for those who speak either Russian or Yiddish). This sum will include food and lodging in St. Petersburg for 5 days and the entire seminar program, including interpreters when needed, concerts and the two excursions. Participants will pay their own transportation to St. Petersburg. For more information, please contact the Jewish Community Center of St. Petersburg via fax at (7-812) 314-5117, or e-mail . For help with travel and visa arrangements, contact our American sponsor via telephone at (212) 273-1620 or 273-1642, or e-mail . Join us at "KlezFest in St. Petersburg" this summer! It is a unique opportunity for you to enjoy wonderful Yiddish melodies and the fantastic White Nights, a time you will never forget. Alexander Frenkel St Petersburg, Russia 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2001 02:20:00 -0500 (EST) From: rturkel@cas.org Subject: bar/ben Mikhoyel Basherives asked about bar/ben difference [10.046]: Aramaic "bar" (meaning "son of") is not in common use today. There were a few Talmudic rabbis who are named there as so-&-so bar so-&-so', but they lived in a time when Aramaic was still in use as a spoken language, so that's no surprise. "Bar" is also an abbreviation of "ben Reb", but then it's always pronounced in full or as "b'reb," not the same as Aramaic "bar." 2 upper slash marks between the beyz & reysh is gershayim in Hebrew, quotation mark in English. That's the standard indicator of a multiword abbreviation in Hebrew, and always occurs immediately before the last letter, regardless of the length of the abbreviation. That's how "b'reb" is always written. Rick Turkel 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 12:02:00 -0500 (EST) From: Perets Mett Subject: bar/ben Mikhoyel Basherives fregt vegn bar/ben [10.046]: A little confusion reigns here. It is true that bar is the Aramaic for ben, but that is a red herring. Normal usage is ployni 'ben' ployni. But yidn aren't happy with leaving people untitled so men tend to acquire the honorific 'reb' In writing, ployni ben reb ployni takes up too much space and time when ployni b"r conveys the same information. In almost all cases that's what it is : ben reb has been contracted to b"r. Not much to do with Yiddish, in which the more common form is ployni ployni's. Perets b"r Yankev 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2001 07:56:15 -0500 (EST) From: Jacob E Goodman Subject: muz nisht vs. darf nisht Martin Green says [10.046]: ``The verbs muz'n and darfen mean almost the same thing in the positive sense; but they differ in the negative ...'' The same holds in English: The verbs `must' and `have to' mean almost the same thing, yet `must not' and `don't have to' are quite different. In `must not do so and so' the `not' negates the `do'; in `don't have to do so and so' the `not' negates the `have to'. Eli Goodman 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 22:28:39 -0500 (EST) From: Artliese@aol.com Subject: muz nisht vs. darf nisht In reply to Martin Green [10.046]: The usage with which I am familiar is as follows: "muz nisht" signifies that one does not have to. "Ich muz nisht essen" is "I don't have to eat". "Darf nisht" signifies that one does not need to. "Ich darf nisht essen" is "I don't need to eat". The difference is very insignificant. But "tor nisht" signifies that one is forbidden to or does not dare to, "Ich tor nisht essen of Yom Kippur" is " I dare not (or I am forbidden to) eat on Yom Kippur. I hope this helps you. Mit hertzige grussen, Al (Avrum) Miller 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 11:31:33 -0500 (EST) From: "peter melman" Subject: Bohemian Jews' Use of Yiddish circa 1938 I am currently pursuing my doctorate in English at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette, with a minor concentration in Modern Jewish Fiction. As such, my dissertation has presented me this tasking question: Did the Sudeten Jews of Bohemia, as of Chamberlain's Munich Agreement in 1938, speak shtetl-ized Yiddish, or were Sudeten German and local Czech the only languages used? Essentially, my question is this: Did Yiddish exist in the inter-war period in the former Czechoslovakia, and if so, to what extent? I know of its prevalence in Poland, Ukraine, Russia, etc, but the former Czechoslovakia is proving difficult. If someone there can help me with this, I'd be grateful. Thank you for your time. Yours, Peter Melman 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 14:13:17 -0500 (EST) From: "Susan Ganc" Subject: forbidden activities in Gebertig's songs I am wondering why "whistling" and "raising doves" were not considered suitable activities for Jews. in Eastern Europe. I am specifically thinking of Mordkhei Gebertig's songs. In "Rezele" the girl quotes her mother: "feifn, zogt zee iz nisht yidish, past nor bloyz far zey". In the song " Motele" the father scolds his son for running around after pigeons instead of studying torah. I have seen mention in other works of Yiddish literature that pigeon raising is somehow not suitable for Jews but never saw a specific explanation of why not. Susan Ganc 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 17:55:39 -0500 (EST) From: Diana Subject: a mayse mit a ku Can you help me find a poem from long ago published in Der Amerikaner "A Meyse mit a koo" (story of a cow) by Veynper. Opening lines: Itzkhok Moishe Yosel Hoht a koo gekeyft Benkt di koo tzum derfl Nemt'se un antleyft." A sheynem dank Diana Wilner ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 10.049 Address for the postings to Mendele: mendele@lists.yale.edu Address for the list commands: listproc@lists.yale.edu Mendele on the Web: http://www.mendele.net http://ibiblio.org/yiddish/mendele.html